Student Loan Repayment Time

It’s that time of year when the buzz of the holiday season creates both excitement and some stress.  For those recently graduated from college, don’t get swept away in holiday cheer.  For those students with federal student loans, it is around the holiday time that your federal loans’ six-month grace period ends and you must start repayment.

It’s Beginning to Look a lot Like -- Loan Repayments

Please keep in mind that it is up to you to understand what debt you have outstanding, what institution is your loan servicer, and what you owe when.  Remember, although the Department of Education disburses federal loans, a loan servicer is a separate company that administers your loan.  The loan servicer should contact you, either by email or direct mail, to let you know about your repayment plan.  However, if you have not heard anything, you are still responsible for seeking out this information.  You can log into your Federal Student Aid account using your FSA ID to gather details about your federal loans. Also, in some cases, your loan may be transferred to a new servicer who will notify you of the change.  Sometimes this notification can look like a piece of “junk mail” so my word of advice is to open all of your mail just in case. If you have private loans outside of the federal student loan program, you must make sure you understand your repayment plan from this third-party lender. 
 
For high school students in the process of applying for financial aid, I recommend that you make sure you save your FSA ID.  You will need it to reapply for financial aid every year anyway, and it is necessary to access information about the federal loans that will eventually enter repayment.  Second, understand the grace period of your loans.  Many loans have a six-month grace period but not all.  It is important to understand how quickly your loans are expected to be repaid.  Finally, be aware of how much you are borrowing and what your monthly payment will look like when your loans enter repayment.
 
While a loan payment may diminish your holiday cheer, remember, a college diploma is a pretty awesome gift.

If You Want Merit Scholarships, Deadlines Could Matter

Over 25 colleges and universities have early deadlines for students wanting to be considered for merit scholarships. The most common priority deadline -- December 1! So don't dilly dally.

Ask the Consultant: I Still Haven't Heard!!

Q: My classmate and I applied to the same college.  They just received an acceptance letter and I haven’t heard.  Does that mean I didn’t get in?

A: Not at all!  Colleges don’t necessarily mail all of the acceptances at the same time, and the communication that trickles out of the admissions office may not be correlated to the geographic area of the applicant. Even for letters that were postmarked on the same day, sometimes the time it takes a letter to get from one place to another varies. So, try not to read too much into whether your classmate already received their acceptance letter.  You may just have a fat envelope waiting for you at home.

Ask the Consultant: Should I Interview?

Q: We are planning to visit colleges over the February break. Should I have my daughter interview?

A: Early on, it is a good idea to take a look at the interview policies at each of the schools to which you are seriously considering applying.  Why?  Not all interviews are “counted” as a part of the admissions decision.  The Fiske Guide to Colleges spells out each college's interview policy.  For example, if it says: “Campus interviews: recommended, evaluative.  Alumni interviews: optional, informational,” this tells you that if you do an on-campus interview, the interviewer will take notes and put them in your file.  If you interview well, this can help you in the process.  You can also interview with an alumnus in your local area but, in this case, these interviews are only to provide you with information on the college.  In an informational interview, nothing about the conversation will be used in the decision-making process, with the exception of the knowledge that you participated. 

It is also helpful to know the timing of interviews.  Generally, the more applications the school receives, the more restrictions that they will have about interviews.  Some large state universities do not interview at all.  Many of the elite and Ivy League colleges will only interview students who have submitted an application, or at least the first part of the application with the application fee.  And many schools only offer interviews to prospective students between April 1 of the junior year and January 15 of the senior year.  After that, they are reading applications and making decisions. 

Is this going to be your only visit? 

If you are traveling quite a distance for a visit, your best bet is to get as much out of the visit as possible. This could include a class visit, lunch with a student, and an interview. On the other hand, if you are just testing the waters, determining if a school is of interest or not, do just that. The interview can wait. 

Planning for Campus Visits

Many families are starting to make plans to visit colleges over the course of their child’s eleventh-grade year. It is a smart strategy to have a working college list at the start of the junior year so you can map out a plan for how you are going to visit all of the campuses. 

Spoiler alert: it will likely be more challenging to squeeze multiple visits into your schedule than you imagine 

You will want to see a campus in action, with students on the quad and in the classrooms, as alive with activity as possible. That rules out holidays and summers, and with the elimination of the entire week of February vacation at many Connecticut public schools, the only full week off is April break. For students participating in spring sports, this makes it even more difficult to find the time. Layer in other elements of your family’s schedule- siblings’ activities, work trips and responsibilities, exams, etc. - and finding the time becomes a real challenge. In fact, the majority of the families we work with opt to start the college process sooner with their second child, even though they have much more information about the process having been through it once before. This decision is made, in large part, by the realization that narrowing down the college list by visiting campuses takes much more time then they anticipated. So, make sure you budget enough time to get on the campus; it is well worth your time. Besides, who doesn’t relish a good road trip?

Student Athletes Need to Start Early

Well, maybe not quite that early! 

Do you want to play a sport in college? If so, you need to plan ahead -- as early as freshman or sophomore year in high school.

Freshmen should be looking at their four-year plan for academics and making sure that they have the rigor needed to be eligible to compete in college. The NCAA has strict requirements for coursework. At a minimum, you will need to take four years of English, three years of mathematics beyond Algebra I, two years of lab science, and two years of social sciences. Most college-bound student-athletes have far more rigor than that! 

Sophomores should begin putting together an athletic resume, thinking about the type of schools that they would like to look at, and contacting coaches to set up unofficial visits. They should also take the PSAT and pre-ACT (if offered at their school) to get a sense for where their standardized testing will land. Coaches often ask about grades, rigor, and scores right from the start -- they don't want to waste their time or yours if the student will not make the cut with admissions. For this reason, freshman and sophomore grades are very important!! 

Enlist the help of your club coach or high school coach early on as well. Many college coaches will reach out to the coaches that have worked with you in high school to get a sense of the player's coachability, overall attitude, and potential for success.

Finally, research college showcases and camps for the summer. But be careful -- some are just money-makers for the college and offer limited benefit in terms of recruiting. So proceed with caution before spending a lot of money and time. 

College Admissions is Less Selective Than You Think

Only 13 percent of four-year colleges accept fewer than half of their applicants.

The Other Voice in the Conversation

Often parent's reach out to us for help as they feel the college search and application process is so emotionally charged between them and their adolescent son or daughter that it amps up stress in the household in a counterproductive way. Therefore, partnering with an educational consultant to de-escalate the process and move it forward can be helpful.  We can provide a voice that may be better heard to guide the process, working to establish and meet the educational goals of the student and their family.  

By meeting with students regularly as juniors and more frequently as seniors, we earmark time spent productively in the process, supporting the student along the way.  The partnership between student, family, and consultant relies on excellent communication and goal-setting.  It’s an exciting time to explore post-secondary possibilities, and we strive to keep it positive, ideally empowering students to take responsibility for it with our guidance and their parent's support. 

Becoming the other voice that students can hear and a resource for families can de-stress what many feel is a tense and complex process.

Student to Student

Q: All of my friends seem like they are having a blast at college, but I feel lonely! Is this normal?

A: It’s okay to feel homesick! Whether you’re a twenty-minute drive away or across the country, everyone gets a little homesick from time to time. It’s N O R M A L! You may think you’re alone, but ask any of your friends, and they will surely be able to relate.

Of course, if your homesickness is getting in the way of your academics or social life, you should reach out. Your RA is a great resource -- they are trained in helping students get through this big adjustment! 

Recently, a Cornell freshman posted a YouTube video about freshmen loneliness that went viral! Click the link to see it! 

Our summer intern Laura Card is a sophomore at Colgate University, where she plans to major in Biology and Women's Studies. 

Ability to Pay Could Factor Into Your Admission Decision

National Association for College Admission Counseling recently reported that about half of institutions said an applicant’s “ability to pay” was of at least “some importance” in admissions decisions.